Matthew Hayden paid a moving tribute to Andrew Symonds, his cricketing closest friend

Following Andrew Symonds’ untimely death, his close friend and former Australian Test teammate Matthew Hayden has shared a moving tribute to the cricket legend.

‘If you can’t explain it in three words Joe, it’s not worth listening to,’ Simmo once told me,’ Hayden posted on Instagram on Sunday night.

‘Well, Roy……’Bloody good bloke’ pretty much describes you up. ‘Make sure those XXXX bitters cans are nice and frosty for when we next taste,’ he instructed.

Symonds died when his car left the road about 11pm on Saturday night near his home in Townsville in Queensland.

The 46-year-old, who was born in Birmingham before moving down under at a young age, played 26 Tests, 198 one-day internationals and 14 T20s for Australia and won the World Cup in 2003 and 2007.

For many of those highlights opening batsman and fellow Queenslander Hayden was by his side.

Hayden, who is currently in India where he is commentating on the Indian Premier League was woken early on Sunday with the news.

The pair were the best of mates, with Hayden listing Symonds debut Test century with himself as batting partner as the highlight of his own career.

Symonds went on to make 156 in the Test against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2006.

‘When he got his hundred he launched himself into my arms and it crunched my helmet into my head so hard it split my forehead. But there was no happier moment in my career,’ Hayden told Newscorp on Sunday.

‘What a memory. By that stage we had known each other for 12 or 13 years our families were super close – honestly, that moment was just beautiful.’

‘He was a hard man not to love. He had so much charisma and mystery. He had a sharp wit but he would stand up to anyone or anything if he didn’t think something was right.’

Hayden said Symonds was slow to get going on in his maiden century in The Ashes.

But his mood changed after former England international Kevin Pietersen came up to him at the crease and teased him about his performance.

He said from that moment on Symonds seemed to have a warrior-like fire lit in his belly and he tore through the English bowlers.